Research Plan 2020–2022

Abstract

Snow avalanches are a significant natural hazard and common phenomenon in Norway. Each year, avalanches result in fatalities, evacuations, and interruptions or damage to infrastructure networks such as roads, railways, and electrical transmission lines. Persistent avalanche hazard in steep terrain is a major factor considered during land-use planning and development. During the snow season, daily or weekly variations in the avalanche danger identified in regional and applied bulletins influence the operation of transportation networks. Applied research on avalanches and their societal impacts has been conducted at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) since 1973. This research has been funded in part by an annual grant from the Norwegian parliament, administered by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE – Norges vassdrags- og energi-direktorat). Recent research activities have improved our understanding of avalanche formation, movement, and impacts. Enhanced knowledge of the individual processes leading to avalanche initiation, avalanche dynamics, and avalanche impacts has been applied to developing tools to help predict avalanche occurrence, runout distance, and impact pressures. While much has been accomplished within the avalanche research community in recent years, many key questions remain. This project plan: (1) presents the research goals for the 2020-2022 period, (2) outlines the projects organization – including potential for external collaboration, and (3) presents the work-package structure and specific research tasks to be undertaken by the applied avalanche research group at NGI over the next three years.